Editor’s Note

“Residential Construction Lot Grading Approval Process Optimization: Case Study of City of Edmonton”: The rapid growth of residential construction in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada has led to increased demand on lot grading inspectors. Sharma, Al-Hussein, and AbouRizk aim to study, evaluate, and optimize the existing lot grading approval process. Data from past years are collected and analyzed to establish a baseline performance level, and a survey is conducted to determine potential areas of improvement from the perspectives of different shareholders. Lean thinking principles are then applied to identify and reduce the non-value-added activities and improve performance.

“Integration of Construction As-Built Data Via Laser Scanning with Geotechnical Monitoring of Urban Excavation”: A critical concern during the design and development of underground space is the influence of construction-related ground movements on neighboring facilities and utilities. Su, Hashash, and Liu explore the use of 3D laser scanning technology to accurately capture construction activities during development of an urban excavation. The paper describes the planning, execution, and data processing phases of collecting accurate construction as-built staging information over a period of four months at an urban excavation site in Evanston, Illinois, and draws conclusions that are based on the results.

“Classifying Construction Contractors Using Unsupervised-Learning Neural Networks”: Elazouni applies a neural-network model to aid in contractor prequalification by using the financial ratios of liquidity, activity, profitability, and leverage. The process through which contractors are evaluated is described, using neurons with weights as a classifier to set a decision boundary between clusters of similar performance. The system is tested by hierarchically classifying a group of 245 contractors into classes of smaller numbers.

“Decision Tree Modeling Using Integrated Multilevel Stochastic Networks”: Moussa, Ruwanpura, and Jergeas introduce the stochastic multilevel decision tree modeling approach that is useful for analyzing decision problems that are characterized by uncertainty and complexity. The model’s advantages are shown through a decision support simulation system that allows users to model probabilistic linear graph networks and provides a hierarchical modeling method for modeling decision trees to present uncertainties more accurately. The system is verified by conducting several tests.

“Particle Swarm Optimization-Supported Simulation for Construction Operations”: Authors Zhang, Tam, Li, and Shi present a study that proposes integrating particle swarm optimization and a construction simulation to efficiently determine the optimal resource combination for a construction operation. A statistics method, multiple-comparison procedure is adopted to compare the random output performances resulting from the simulation model to rank the alternatives during the search process. Experimental analyses demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed simulation-optimization.

“Construction IT Decision Making Using Multiattribute Utility Theory for Use in a Laboratory Information Management System”: Elmisalami, Walters, and Jaselskis describe an objective process to select appropriate information technologies for construction applications by using multiattribute utility theory. The theory is based on the premise that the selection issue can be broken down into alternative attributes that are weighted and from which single-attribute utilities are measured. Finally, single-attribute utilities are combined to develop one single aggregate utility index for each alternative.

“Quantitative Measurement of Successful Performance from the Project Manager’s Perspective”: Authors Menches and Hanna describe a process for converting a project manager’s qualitative evaluation of successful performance to a quantitative measurement. Drawing on information gathered from analyzing 55 contracting projects, the authors perform a reliability analysis and use six variables to construct a performance measurement index. Furthermore, a cross-validation technique is used to evaluate the performance measurement index.

“Multiproject Planning and Resource Controls for Facility Management”: Existing methods lack effective means to explicitly model, analyze, and optimize resource utilization for multiple, concurrent, geographically dispersed construction projects. East and Liu present an explicit model of the mobilization requirements of multiple crews performing a variety of different activities over a geographic space. Using work-rules decisions regarding alternative crew allocations, facility managers may dynamically allocate resources to optimize resources and to complete projects in a minimum time.

“Conceptual Planning Process for Electrical Construction”: Recently, contractors are turning to “better planning” as a method for improving their efficiency and, consequently, their profitability. Menches and Hanna present a model electrical preconstruction planning process that was crafted from outstanding processes used on several successful electrical projects. Furthermore, a method to evaluate the effectiveness of planning, by comparing actual planning to the model process, is briefly introduced.

“Modeling of Functional Construction Requirements for Constructability Analysis”: Because the construction industry still lacks methodologies to represent and evaluate the functional construction requirements for constructability analysis, Song and Chua develop the concept of intermediate function for representing the construction requirements from three perspectives: function user, function provider, and the temporal and spatial relationships between the user and the provider. This is followed by the development of the in-progress product model to abstract the construction life cycle of a facility product using the concept of component state.